Fabulous! James notes that--per Shakespeare (kind of)--ghost stories are meant to be read in the winter, and so it should be. The chill of the air andFabulous! James notes that--per Shakespeare (kind of)--ghost stories are meant to be read in the winter, and so it should be. The chill of the air and the early dark all lend a hand in creating the perfect atmosphere in which to allow oneself to be scared (even nowadays, when these stories must be considered quite "tame").

My favorites:

Canon Alberic's Scrap Book (the first of the collection) -- a typical, spooky sight story.

The Mezzotint -- a creepy moving picture. Cool.

The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance -- well written. Some amusing descriptions of other characters.

A Neighbour's Landmark -- just a good, creepy tale. Love how it describes old-time wealthy visiting-times (if there's a good household library "no host need trouble himself further about [his guest's] entertainment").

A View from A Hill -- loved it. Another gone visiting to a rich friend's house in the English countryside tale (watch out for those!)

Wailing Well -- written for (and about) Boy Scouts. Left me laughing, I couldn't help picture how the scouts must have felt about it, listening to it read about the fire at camp. Hah!...more

Modern murder mystery with Nazis. And a girl with tattoos. In Swedish. Hmmm. Whatever, it was fine, but I don't truly understand the hype. Or, maybe IModern murder mystery with Nazis. And a girl with tattoos. In Swedish. Hmmm. Whatever, it was fine, but I don't truly understand the hype. Or, maybe I do. It was interesting, and I thought the characters were developed in an interesting way and seemed 'real'.

But maybe that was part of the problem. They were real to me, these characters, and this book was cruel. Dark horrible secrets revealed. Injustices are alive and well. It has a woman who fights back against an evil man in a very violent horrible way (not that she had much choice, but still... ick). Basically, it was disturbing.

I guess disturbing is what sells nowadays. It intrigues people, in that "Seven" [movie with Brad Pitt:] type of way. So if you were all about "Seven" you'll probably love this book. But if you were disturbed or haunted by it? Skip Dragon Tattoo. ...more

Perhaps I've read too many graphic horror stories and seen too many movies, but this book wasn't what I was expecting when I heard it was a super creePerhaps I've read too many graphic horror stories and seen too many movies, but this book wasn't what I was expecting when I heard it was a super creepy all-time most fabulous ghost/horror novel. Not that it was bad. By all means, I enjoyed the read. But I'd expected to be, well, scared. And I wasn't. Intrigued. Interested. But not frightened one little bit. Oh well. Still a good book. ...more

the scariest book i've ever read, by far. i couldn't stop reading it the night i started it b/c i was too scared for the protagonist; i had to find outhe scariest book i've ever read, by far. i couldn't stop reading it the night i started it b/c i was too scared for the protagonist; i had to find out what would happen to her....more